GROUNDBREAKING SATURDAY FOR SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER

Groundbreaking for the Central Davis County Senior Citizens Center is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the center site, adjacent to the city municipal building.

The ceremony will be preceded by a $4 fund-raising chuckwagon breakfast that starts at 7 a.m.Davis County Aging Services Inc., a non-profit organization, has raised $500,000 for the center's construction, mostly from federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and needs another $250,000 to complete the recreation and activities center.

But Aging Services board chairman and spokesman Frank Storey said groundbreaking and construction on the center will go ahead as planned, with fund-raising going into high gear through the winter.

Dignitaries will include Lt. Gov. Val Oveson, the mayors of Kaysville, Layton, Fruit Heights and Farmington and the three Davis County commissioners.

Storey said the 10,000-square-foot center, similar in size and design to centers in Bountiful and Clearfield, will be built by Salt Lake's Kimtro Construction Co.

Installation of kitchen equipment, ceramic and lapidary rooms, pool tables and exercise equipment, as well as furnishings and interior decorating will be delayed until more money is generated. Aging Services has an agreement with Davis County that once the center is built, the county will fund its operation.

"Our goal as a non-profit corporation is to build a facility, equip and furnish it so it is completely operational, and give the keys to the county commissioners who will be responsible for its operation," Storey said.

Plans announced earlier this summer called for the center to be built and operational by Christmas, but Storey said the senior citizens are now looking at a completion date of May 5.